Medical technology has improved dramatically in recent history and this improvement continues unabated. Diseases which were once considered fatal are now routinely treatable. Often, a patient which would have been given up as terminal can now be treated for a few days or even a few hours and then released to recover at home.
Often, in the course of medical treatment, a patient is connected to a medical device. These medical devices can be as simple as an IV line to provide fluids or blood to the patient or as complex as an EKG machine which has multiple leads hooked to the patient each giving important feedback regarding the patient's condition. Sometimes, the time that it takes to connect these medical devices is critical. For example, when attaching lead wires to an EKG monitor, the leads may become entangled and cause a delay in hooking them up to the patient. This delay can be prevent the doctor or other caregiver from obtaining much needed information or otherwise delay treatment. This can, in turn, hamper the quality and timeliness of care which the patient receives.
Additionally, without sufficient support, the lead wires or fluid connections may become detached from the patient and cause unnecessary patient treatment or feedback. In particular, many times the wires and tubes connecting the patient to critical care machines simply are draped over the patient's bed and then hang between the bed and the device. This can lead to problems as the weight of the tubing and/or wires can provide a force which tends to detach the device from the patient.
To prevent detaching the tubes or wires are often wrapped around a portion of the patient's bed. This helps support the weight of the tubes or wires, but restricts movement of the patient. For example, if the patient rolls over or is moved, the leads may then detach from the patient. I.e., hooking the leads to the bed can often help cause the very problem that it is intended to avoid.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a device which can prevent tangles in the connections from the patient to the medical device. Additionally, there is a need for the device to allow the patient freedom of movement. Further, there is a need in the art for the device to support the weight of the connections.